Features
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Hidden Gems: Honda SL350
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Steve Cooper introduces us to one of the prettiest – and most underrated – of Honda’s 1970s offerings. Some would argue that, when Honda dropped the hugely successful CB72/77 for its follow up K Series 250/350 it somehow cheapened the brand. To a point that’s correct, but for good reason – the outgoing models were…
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Looking back at the sidecar TT
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With the news that this year’s Sidecar TT class was cancelled after two massive crashes, Mick Payne takes a look at when Great Britain ruled on three wheels. Mick Payne reports When I introduced the concept of an A to Z of sidecars I admitted it wasn’t likely to be a set-in-stone monthly feature, and…
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The man who made the Manx better: John Tickle’s lighter, faster Norton
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John Tickle is a legendary name in the world of Norton, not least because it was he who – whisper it low – improved the Manx Norton. When he had bought the contents of the AMC race shop in 1966, Colin Seeley also acquired all the Manx Norton rights and parts. He decided to concentrate…
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Time to consider a base in the sun
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It started off as an adventure with my wife, a 1954 Velocette MSS and a one-way ferry ticket from Ireland to Bilbao.
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40 years of the Beast: How Suzuki’s GSX-R1100 rewrote the superbike rules
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Suzuki’s beast of a bike – the GSX-R1100G first hit UK showrooms some 40 years ago. Bertie Simmonds looks back… The GSX-R750F of 1985 revolutionised sportsbike design, even if it used tried and tested technology, but by making the whole bike lighter… For the 1986 GSX-R1100, Suzuki applied very similar thinking. This bike weighed in…
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The girl on a motorcycle
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Around Hull there was a legend of a beautiful blonde on a big Harley. But, as her friend Mike Cartlidge, tells us, that was no myth – that was Anita Manley. This is a tribute to a lovely lady who, in her younger days, did not need Bill Ivy or Fred Warr in a blonde…
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Singer: the Coventry car maker that began on two wheels
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Although best known for its cars, Coventry-based Singer began by making motorcycles, while its connection with two wheels goes back even further. In 1875, George Singer and his brother-in-law, James Stringer, founded a cycle company, and Singer went on to build the world’s first safety bicycle. By 1883, Singer was one of the country’s largest…
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Remembering… The Verus
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After the First World War Alfred Wiseman began manufacturing motorcycles in his Glover Street works in Birmingham under the Sirrah name (the name came from reversing the surname of the designer, a Mr Harris), motorcycles which used a number of proprietary engines and were aimed at the budget market. However, to complement the various Sirrah…
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When Whitham and Mackenzie Battled for the 1996 British Superbike Crown
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The stars aligned for this amazing British Superbike squad, formed just over 30 years ago to take part in the 1996 series. Bertie Simmonds reports… Run out of the back of Steve ‘Stavros’ Parrish’s former Loctite Yamaha converted horsebox, the group dominated that year’s event. James Whitham took 10 wins overall that year and Niall…
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Hidden Gems: Honda CB400N
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Well, this one should raise some eyebrows! Steve Cooper is, as the young folk put it, dissing one of the Japanese classic scene’s sacred icons and bigging up its oft reviled successor. Honda’s numerous 350/360 twins of the 70s were never the company’s best work and, realistically, they were little more than rehashed existing models.…
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